We have an opportunity in the electronic world to provide more relevance to the exchange of clinical data and to ask ourselves questions such as, “What information should be pulled from other healthcare organizations?” and “When does ‘old’ become ‘too old’?”

With a malpractice suit underway, a hospital receives a discover request for “the patient’s electronic health record.” But what exactly does that mean? Do electronic health records exist in one form and in one system such that everything can be collected and produced at once?

To err is human, but to really foul things up, you need a computer. So stated the introductory slide for the convention session “To Err is Human…To Correct Takes an HIM Professional” presented by Mary Jedlicka, RHIT, and Nick Judd, MBA, RHIA, from the Cleveland Clinic Health System.